Summary of the Core Content
This is an interesting business analysis from Huxiu, which uses a well-known historical fact—“only 13 out of the 16 Ming emperors were buried in the Ming Tombs”—as an introduction. It compares the development of China’s internet industry over the past 20 years to the succession of emperors during the Ming Dynasty. The globally recognized top giants in the internet industry are akin to the legitimate emperors buried in the Ming Tombs, with exactly 13 companies making this list. The three Ming emperors who did not qualify for burial in the Ming Tombs—founder Zhu Yuanzhang, the missing Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen, and Emperor Zhizong Zhu Qiyu—correspond to three companies in the internet industry that once had a chance to become leaders but fell behind for completely absurd reasons and failed to even make it into the “giant club.” This analogy clearly illustrates the unwritten rules of success and failure in the internet industry.
---
Detailed Popular Explanation
1. Why use the Ming Tombs as a metaphor for the internet giant list? The analogy is almost perfect.
Many people didn’t realize the brilliance of this comparison: The Ming Tombs are not just random burial sites for emperors; they are recognized by later generations as the “pool of legitimate Ming emperors.” Even if you once sat on the imperial throne, if you are not acknowledged by mainstream history, you do not qualify to be part of this group. The same principle applies to the internet industry: Over the past 20 years, there have been several waves of success, and only about 16 companies truly reached the status of “national-level leaders” with a market value in the hundreds of billions. The currently recognized top giants (Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance, Baidu, JD.com, Pinduoduo, etc.) number exactly 13. The remaining three companies were once promising candidates but ultimately failed to obtain the status of legitimate industry leaders, just like the three Ming emperors who did not enter the Ming Tombs.
2. The first “unlucky” company: The “Zhu Yuanzhang-level” pioneer, defeated by failing to adapt to the industry’s shift.
The first emperor to not make it into the Ming Tombs was Zhu Yuanzhang, the actual founder of the Ming Dynasty. Although he was older than all the emperors buried there, he chose to establish the capital in Nanjing and was buried in the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum there. At that time, the construction of the Ming Tombs in Beijing had not yet begun, so it was impossible for him to be moved there. In the internet industry, this corresponds to Sohu, the pioneer of the PC internet era. Sohu was the undisputed leader, and even Baidu was considered a junior competitor. However, when the focus shifted to mobile internet, Sohu failed to keep up with the trends—searching was no match for Baidu, social networking for Tencent, and video for Douyin and Kuaishou. Its current market value is a fraction of that of ByteDance. This is a direct parallel to Zhu Yuanzhang’s failure to enter the Ming Tombs: it wasn’t a matter of lack of ability, but the entire industry’s base had moved, and Sohu’s roots remained in the old era.
3. The second “unlucky” company: The “Emperor Jianwen-level” successor, betrayed and doomed from the start.
The second emperor who did not enter the Ming Tombs was Zhu Yunwen, the rightful heir to the throne. He was overthrown by his uncle Zhu Di during the Jingnan Campaign and disappeared without a trace, leaving no proper tomb. In the internet industry, this corresponds to ofo, the once-promising shared bicycle company. During the peak of the shared bicycle market, ofo was seen as the next billion-dollar giant. However, it was betrayed by its competitor Didi, and internal corruption led to the loss of millions of users’ deposits. Now, ofo is almost forgotten, just like Emperor Jianwen, despite having all the necessary advantages.
4. The third “unlucky” company: The “Zhu Qiyu-level” emperor who was temporarily brought in but later ousted.
The third emperor who did not enter the Ming Tombs was Zhu Qiyu, who was only made emperor temporarily due to his brother’s capture by the enemy. After his brother’s return, he was overthrown in a coup, and his imperial status was not recognized after his death. In the internet industry, this corresponds to LeEco, which was once dominant in multiple sectors but faced financial collapse and the departure of its founder, Jia Yueting. Its former glory has been completely forgotten, and it is now excluded from the list of giants.
5. The reason this analogy has become popular: People have finally understood the invisible rules of the internet industry.
Many internet veterans share this analogy, noting that the fates of these three companies mirror the most typical ways in which giants fall: either they failed to adapt to industry changes, were betrayed by those within their own ranks, or their success was unstable and ultimately collapsed. None of them lost due to minor competition; they all missed the final step to gain widespread recognition as legitimate industry leaders. Just like the Ming emperors, their status as giants is not recognized by later generations. In the current internet industry, no matter how successful you were, if you don’t establish yourself in the top tier within three to five years, you will not be included when people talk about the giants. No matter how many trends there are, only a handful of companies will ever hold the title of “permanent giants.”